Argentina star, Lionel Messi is unsure if he will play or not for the country after the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia.
The 30-year old forward retired once back in 2016 after the loss against Chile in Copa America final.
Messi’s long stint in the national team marked with near misses. It includes a defeat to Germany in the 2014 World Cup decider and back-to-back final failures at the Copa America.
Messi believes his country’s media makes a big impact after the failures,
“The fact we’ve lost three finals now has led to some complicated moments with the Argentine press due to the differences in seeing what it means to reach a final. It is not easy and [reaching three finals] has to be appreciated. It’s true that winning them is important, but getting there is not easy.”
He told La Cornisa:
“We feel that, if we won’t win the World Cup in Russia, the only way will be to give up the national team. I dream of winning the trophy in Russia. My wish is to live something similar to Brazil 2014. You can do everything OK and fail, like Argentina in Brazil.“
The Barcelona star’s life in Argentina depends on the result of the World Cup,
“I don’t know. It will depend how we do, how it ends.”
Messi also believes Jorge Sampaoli’s side have nothing to fear in Russia,
“There are a lot of very good players, but we also have quality players that any national team would want. We don’t envy anyone.”
Argentina belongs to the tricky Group D. The group includes Croatia, Nigeria and Iceland. However, Messi expects Argentina’s bid for a third World Cup title to face stiff opposition from Brazil, Germany, Spain, France, and Belgium.
The Barcelona forward has never won a major international trophy and has something of a difficult relationship with fans of the national team.